Category Archives: Things To Do and Sights

If you are coming to Sønderborg and looking for things to do you have come to the right place. We are working on a list of 99 Things To Do around Sønderborg. We like museums, we like having fun, we hope these can bring you some inspiration for what you can do here.

Swimming in the Baltic Sea

I come from the middle of the Mediterranean; growing up the swimming season extended from June to September. And even then, I thought that the water was often cold, especially at the start of summer! So when people mentioned swimming in Denmark eye-rolling was my standard reply.

IMG_7465

However, when a friend from Australia staying in Sonderborg said that she has been swimming and enjoyed it, and after a week of hot weather, I challenged myself and Michael to try it out in Sonderborg. The water was cold. Very cold! Definitely colder than whatever I considered ‘very cold’ in Malta! But I made it in successfully. Let’s just say that I am not ‘winter bathing‘ material as yet and leave it at that.

This year’s summer (2012) has not been good for the temperature of the Danish waters. In Vejle, four fjords from here, the average bathing temperature was 16,8 degrees. Compared to a normal average of 18.6 degrees this has been the coldest in the 16 years they have measured the bathing water temperature in Vejle. If you are interested in keeping an eye yourself DMI measures temperatures in harbours and TV2 measures bathing water temperatures on beaches at 1 meter depth.

Water Culture

One thing I have noticed though was that while Maltese people can easily stay in the water for 30mins to an 1hr and even longer, Danes tend to just go in for a very short time, maybe 10-15 minutes, and then get back out. You might think it is because of the temperature, but when Danish friends (including Michael!) visit Malta, they do just the same. I seem to think that once I have tortured myself getting into the cold water, might as well stay in as long as possible!

The picture for this post is actually from Brighton beach in UK. When we get out of the water in Sonderborg we shake too much to take pictures 🙂

tour of city Sonderborg

Take a Tour of the City

It is often difficult to learn all there is to know about a city , or even tiny village, just by walking around on your own. You will undoubtedly miss some corner with its intriguing story that you would have loved to learn about. A good way of taking a stab at getting to know about these corners and stories is by going on a tour.

tour of city Sonderborg

Typically, most tourist offices offer city walks on a number of themes, sometimes by professional guides, and others by highly interested volunteers from the city itself. Sonderborg is, of course, no less.

Sonderborg tourist office organises a series of guided walks in the municipality, mainly in the summer holiday period. Among the tours offered there is an 1864 town walk in Sonderborg, a walk around Grasten castle and gardens, as well as town walks in Sonderborg, Nordborg and Augustenborg. Unfortunately for me only the 1864 town walk is advertised as offered in English, with all the others only offered in Danish or German, so I decided to check it out.

1864 Town Walk

This walk around the streets of Sonderborg takes you from Radhustorvet, in front of the main Sonderborg tourist office, down to the castle, along the pier and up towards Sct Marie Kirke. During the walk you see locations connected to the 1864 war, learn about what went on, as well as hear stories about the people living in Sonderborg at the time.

The walk appeared interesting. However, there was one downside: the languages! The walk was intended to be given in Danish, German and English and on the day I attended all 3 languages were required. Unfortunately, the guide didn’t appear equally comfortable in all of them. This resulted in the walk being around 90% Danish, 6% German and 4% English! If it wasn’t that some of the Danish people took pity on me and translated the main points it would have been very difficult to understand much of anything (thank you family from Blans!).

Therefore, if you understand Danish, I urge you to try it out (and come back and tell us how it really is), if you understand German and are interested in it, do check it out (after all my German/Danish recognition is not the best in the world. However, if you only understand English I can only recommend that you not bother with it…unless you get another guide, that is!

Visit to the Tilting at the Ring Museum (Ringridermuseum)

After watching the Tilting-at-the-Rings event over the weekend you undoubtedly have a number of questions you are curious about. A couple of mine were:

  • Why do the riders wear a bow on their head?
  • Does the red and white flag attached to their lance signify anything?
  • Why are the rings coloured?

If so, you could do much worse than taking a trip to the Ringrider museum.

IMG_1395

The museum is set up in the old gable house on Church street. This is the second oldest house in Sonderborg, dating to 1643. After falling into disrepair, it was passed on to the local historical archive in 1987, and to the tilting festival of Sonderborg in 2006, when they turned it into Denmark’s first and only Tilting at the Ring Museum.

On entering the museum you find yourself in a charming little house. I was immediately greeted by the person manning the museum on the day, who charmingly answered all my questions in ‘langsamt og tydlig’ Danish (slow and clear): The bow and the flags are simply decorations; the rings are coloured depending on their size, making it easier for the scorers to know the ring size that has been completed. There was also a wall of all the festival posters used since the tournament started in 1888, which I thought was very interesting.

IMG_1398

If you are around during the museum’s opening times (Tuesday and Friday 10:00-16:00 during June, July and August, and every day during the festival weekend; free entry) I would strongly urge you to drop in. The attendant was extremely charming and happy to answer any questions I threw at him in broken Danish, making the visit that much more than a simple museum visit. Worth a visit!

Learn about Sealife at the Blue Flag Station (Blå Flag Center)

Sonderborg Blue Flag Centre

A Blue Flag beach or marina indicates that a beach or marina has reach stringent requirements for water quality, safety, environmental education and information. There are 3 such locations on Als: Sønderborg Lystbådehavn, Sønderborg badestrand and Fynshavn badestrand. Sønderborg lystbadehavn, however goes one step further: it also has one of 14 Danish Blue Flag Centres.

 

What can you find there?

Equipment to borrow

The Blue Flag centre in Sonderborg is a mobile exhibition and activity centre equipped with nets, buckets, waders, telescopes, aquaria, and all you can think of to help you explore the water in the area – all free for you to borrow! The centre is also staffed by a biologist, who was very happy to answer our questions and help us along when we visited.

Camera Roll-566

Besides the activity centre, a variety of events are organised during the summer open season (Wednesday to Sunday 10-17 in weeks number 2635). A number of activities from the packed programme that caught our eye included:

  • Fjordsafari every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10-13 (100-150DKK)
  • Fishing Tour on Friday 13th July from 10-14 (50-100 DKK)
  • GPS Race (geocaching) on Friday 13th and Sunday 22nd July, and Saturday 4th August from 10-15
  • Canoe Tour on Sunday 15th July (book by the 10th of July) from 10-15
  • Beach Games on Friday 20th July from 13-16
  • ‘Eat your coast’ on Saturday 21st July and Sunday 5th Augustr from 13-16
  • Crab Day on Thursday 26th July from 14:30-16:30
  • Snorkel Safari on Saturday 28th July and 11th August from 10-13
  • Ship Builder for a day on Friday 3rd August from 14-16
  • Beach Art on Friday 10th August from 10-15
  • Closing event on Sunday 12th August from 15-17

We visited the Blue Flag Centre when our 9 year old nephew was visiting. He very happily spent 2hrs playing around on his own with the provided equipment, and could have easily stayed longer if it wasn’t time for dinner.

Camera Roll-573

A must-do for anyone who has children. As for adults? I’m sure you can channel your inner child and amaze yourself at the sealife there is around us.

A grand father helping his grand son look for sea life

selvpluk fruit picking

Fruit Picking in the Sonderborg area

One of the benefits of living in an area surrounded by countryside is that fresh produce is on your very doorstep. And what could be fresher than picking the produce yourself? In Danish this is called ‘selvpluk’ and looking at the inevitable stream of newspapers coming through your letterbox you will most definitely find a couple of adverts of such fruit picking facilities.

Camera Roll-445

Below you can find a map of the ‘selvpluk’ locations we have found in the Sonderborg area. If you are aware of more that we have missed, do drop us an email or let us know in the comments.

We tried our hands at strawberry picking the past weekend at one of the places: at 10DKK for 500g of strawberries it is a decent price. The vast abundance of strawberries on the plants also meant that we had more than enough options to choose the strawberries that caught our eye without too much hard work. A great way to enjoy the outdoors for a few moments when there is good weather. And if you are not that keen on the manual labour? No worries! Most of the places also have a shop from where you can buy the fruit already picked.

Camera Roll-452

What’s on in Sonderborg July 2012?

Once a month we take a look at what’s on in Sonderborg and surround area. These are our recommendations – to get a complete, updated list go to Visit Sonderborg’s upcoming list or use Kultunaut.

Elton John by Augustenborg Castle

July 4th Sir Elton gives a concert in the scenic park by Augustenborg Castle. There are still tickets available.

Tilting at the ring

Tilting-at-the-Ring tournaments and festivals are a longstanding tradition in Southern Jutland and during the summer every town has its own tournament. Festivities last throughout the weekends, when local riders compete during the day and party in the evening in the beer tents.

We wrote about the story of the 2012 poster in our last post.

Go sailing with an old wooden sailboat

This summer the sailboat named Frem is based in Sonderborg from July 2nd to August 2nd and you can join them for these sailing expeditions (UPDATE 13/7/12: Unfortunately, the ship Frem could not make it so these trips are cancelled.):

  • Fjord Safari – Sail for 3 hours with a nature guide. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays from 10am to 1pm
  • Sail like a pirate – Sail for 2 hours. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays from 2pm to 4pm
  • Evening voyage with dinner – Sail for 4 hours Tuesday and Wednesday 5.30pm to 9.30pm

Prices, tickets and more information from VisitSonderborg.

Horse-Drawn Wagon Rides in Gråsten Forest

Every Wednesday at 4.30 pm from 4th July to 15th August – more information.

Sea kayak tour with guide

Every Wednesday from 9 am from Sønderborg – more information.

Crab fishing

Danish Society for Nature Conservation is organising two free crab fishing trips for kids and their families.

Stroll along Sonderborg Havn

Sonderborg Havn (Harbour) is a major feature of the town of Sonderborg. It comes alive especially in the summer months when the weather entices the people in town to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere along the water. If you are looking for something more than some relaxation, this is a bit of what you can see along the water.

Sonderborg Castle

Sonderborg castle is the dominating feature of the south end of Sonderborg Harbour. It has been around since the 12th, protecting Jutland from attacks from the south. A visit to the castle is a good way of learning a bit more about the history of the area (though not all displays are translated into English). (#2/99 of Things to do in Sonderborg)

Fru Jensen

Every afternoon you can buy fish straight off the Fru Jensen fishing boat moored besides Sonderborg slot. (#5/99 of Things to do in Sonderborg).

The Legend of King Christian’s Table

The legend goes that while Christian the 2nd was imprisoned in the castle, he continuously walked round a table dragging a finger around its edge. Over time, a groove to form in the table top as a result of the constant rubbing along the edge. Although the story is simply a legend, you can see a statue called “The Myth” representing this along the harbour.

Ringrider Track

The ringrider tradition is a popular tradition in southern Jutland. You can see an old ringrider track at the side of Sonderborg castle.

Ringrider Monument

With Sonderborg having the biggest ringrider festival in Denmark, it is apt that a monument to this tradition is placed in such a central location.

Old Castle Wall

If you looked at the models of the castle in the first display cases in Sonderborg Castle you may have noticed that the castle was originally on an island, surrounded by thick walls with towers at the corners. You can still see remnants of a tower here, as well as bits and pieces of the wall on the other side.

Der Butt im Griff

The “Flounder in control” is a sculpture by 1999 Nobel Prize recipient in Literature, Gunter Grass. This 2.3m high bronze sculpture was opened in 2004. The same sculpture can also be seen in Lubeck and Dusseldorf.

Restaurants

There are 5 restaurants just across from the harbour where you can savour a wide variety of food, from Argentinian and Asian to Danish, fish and beef.

Ice-Cream Kiosk

Having walked this far around the harbour you deserve a treat. And what better place to get it than at the ice-cream kiosk just on the water front. If ice-cream is not your thing you can also get a beer and relax on the benches and tables right next to the kiosk.

Train Tracks

Nowadays, the train stops at Alsion, on the Jutland side of Sonderborg. However, the train used to cross the King Christian bridge from Jutland onto Als. Evidence can still be seen close to the harbour, where there are still remnants of the train tracks left embedded in the road.

Tips for a Tourist in Sonderborg

In the beginning of May Ann’s sister, Cecilia, and a friend came to visit us in Sonderborg for 5 days. We asked her to write a guest post about her experience. Cecilia is currently studying at DCU in Dublin.

IMG_0128

I am just back from 5 days spent in the Sonderborg area visiting Ann and Michael. I had been to Denmark before visiting Copenhagen and south Jutland, but this was my first visit to Als and its environs. We were blessed with some good weather, with the sun shining on most days, which was a welcome change to the Irish weather.

My main tip to anyone visiting the area is to get a good pair of comfy shoes since walking is undoubtedly the best way to see the town. The pier next to Sonderborg Slot was a favourite walking place of ours during our stay with really beautiful views and a relaxing atmosphere. But perhaps coming from a small island and now living in a big city, makes me slightly biased to the wonders of the sea (and a blue sky).

Sønderborg Slot i solen

The people in Denmark seemed to be extremely friendly, and I did not have much problems in communicating. Surprisingly enough, it was only at the tourist information in Sonderborg that I was asked whether I could speak German once I started speaking in English. Luckily I studied German for 6 years during secondary school so I managed to get the required information. However, people on the street we stopped to ask for directions, and people in shops were overall quite helpful, and even where the level of English was not that high, communication was not an issue.

If you are staying for more than 2 days, however, I would suggest you rent a car. This is because, once you spend a day visiting Sonderborg town (Sonderborg slot, perhaps the Dybbol site, and soaking in the atmosphere on the first day and Danfoss Universe on the second day), it would make sense to venture further afield. Nevertheless, keeping Sonderborg as a base is a good idea, since it is truly a lovely town and you can never get tired of walking along the pier in the evening and stopping for a coffee or ice cream at the café there.

We rented a car from Europcar in Sonderborg for the middle three days of our trip, having spent the first day walking around Sonderborg and the last day at Danfoss Universe. I was quite excited about this because I got to drive on the right hand side of the road (which is the wrong side where I am coming from i.e. Malta and more recently Ireland). But for those who have never done this before, do not despair. I did not find it to be that hard, and got into it quite quickly, although for the first day I had to keep telling myself: keep to the right…keep to the right.

Having a car, we got to go further afield. Froslev Prison Camp, I think, was one of my favourite places, being well laid out, having English versions for most (probably all) exhibits and really interesting. However, the highpoint of having a car was undoubtedly our visits to Germany, which is a short hop away from Sonderborg. Having lived on 2 different islands, this has not yet been possible to date. However, you must keep in mind that you then need Euros to use in Germany in addition to the Danish Kroner in Denmark (though with credit cards, this is a minor issue nowadays).

Us in front of Egeskov Slot

A further tip for a trip to the area is to remember to get your inner child out, especially when visiting places like Danfoss Universe and Egeskov castle. It is only by doing this that you can get maximum enjoyment out of the visit.

Tak Ann, Michael and all the people I met in Sonderborg and on this visit. I will hopefully be back :).

hotdogs

Annie’s Kiosk #18/99

Annie’s Kiosk is a small snack hut on the scenic way from Sonderborg to Flensburg. Small as it might be, it punches above its weight; it even has a long wikipedia entry in German!

hotdogs

The kiosk is famous for its hotdogs (and ice-creams). In typical snack hut style, you walk up to the window, order your hotdog – different choices of sausages, mustard, ketchup, remoulade, fried onions, raw onions and pickles – pay, and then get to enjoy it on the open-air benches and tables to the side. There you can get a good view of Flensburg Fjord and Store Okseø.

The kiosk is a favourite stopping point for motorcylists and drivers in the area. It served as a perfect stopping point for us after visiting Cathrinesminde Teglværk in Broager in the morning and before continuing onwards to Frøslev Prison Camp in Padborg, while allowing us to enjoy the scenic views down to the kiosk.

Froslev Prison Camp #17/99

At the start of WWII Denmark more or less stood back and let Nazi-Germany occupy the country. Denmark adopted a policy of collaboration with the oppressors in order to spare the country and people from actions of war. This lasted until August 1943, when the underground resistance movement had started their activities and the Danish government could no longer collaborate with the Nazis.

As a result of the government ending the collaboration most Danish police officers and border patrolmen were arrested and jailed. Simultaneously, the Nazis started to apprehend people from the resistance, communists and others and deporting them to concentration camps. Although people in Denmark did not know of the atrocities in the concentration camps in Germany they were horrified by the deportations of these political prisoners. To prevent this the Danish authorities offered to build Frøslev Prison Camp close to the German border where the Nazis could detain Danish prisoners.

The camp was put into use on August 13 1944 and in the nine months it was in operation under the Nazis 12,000 prisoners were held there. Against the agreement 1,600 of the prisoners were deported to concentration camps in Germany, where about 220 perished.

Guard tower Faarehus camp Frøslevlejren

The museum is, like the Resistance Museum in Copenhagen, run by the National Museum and is free to visit. Unlike several museums in this region almost all displays are in English. The artifacts and the stories of the items and buildings are very well presented and make it an interesting visit. The museum about the camp is in the guard tower and one of the barracks.

The guard tower at Froslev Prison Camp

Unlike the concentration camps, living conditions in Frøslev were bearable and there was sufficient food. The museum is less stark and gruesome than the other camps in Europe where the sheer scale of torture and atrocities can leave you numb.

Apart from the museum telling the story of the prison camp there is also museums from the Home Guard, UN and Amnesty, each of which had a barrack that we quickly covered.

Frøslev Prison Barracks Frøslevlejren

If you are a history buff expect to spend 2 hours in the museums here. For more information check the website.